Florida Senate - 2020CS for SB 232By the Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs; and
Senator Book
586-01384-20 2020232c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to child welfare; amending s. 39.01,
3 F.S.; expanding the list of incidents or injuries that
4 constitute harm to a child’s health or welfare;
5 amending s. 39.303, F.S.; expanding the types of
6 reports that the Department of Children and Families
7 must refer to Child Protection Teams; providing an
8 effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (35) of section
13 39.01, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (m) and (n)
14 are added to that subsection, to read:
15 39.01 Definitions.—When used in this chapter, unless the
16 context otherwise requires:
17 (35) “Harm” to a child’s health or welfare can occur when
18 any person:
19 (a) Inflicts or allows to be inflicted upon the child
20 physical, mental, or emotional injury. In determining whether
21 harm has occurred, the following factors must be considered in
22 evaluating any physical, mental, or emotional injury to a child:
23 the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to the
24 child; the location of the injury on the body of the child; the
25 multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma inflicted.
26 Such injury includes, but is not limited to:
27 1. Willful acts that produce the following specific
28 injuries:
29 a. Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage.
30 b. Bone or skull fractures.
31 c. Brain or spinal cord damage.
32 d. Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal
33 organs.
34 e. Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning.
35 f. Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon.
36 g. Burns or scalding.
37 h. Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites.
38 i. Permanent or temporary disfigurement.
39 j. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part
40 or function.
41
42 As used in this subparagraph, the term “willful” refers to the
43 intent to perform an action, not to the intent to achieve a
44 result or to cause an injury.
45 2. Purposely giving a child, or storing or leaving out when
46 a person knows or reasonably should know that a child is likely
47 to gain access to, poison, alcohol, drugs, or other substances
48 that substantially affect the child’s behavior, motor
49 coordination, or judgment or that result in sickness or internal
50 injury. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term:
51 a. “Drugs” means prescription drugs not prescribed for the
52 child or not administered as prescribed, and controlled
53 substances as outlined in Schedule I or Schedule II of s.
54 893.03.
55 b.“Other substances” includes any liquid that contains
56 nicotine, flavorings or, other substances that are heated into a
57 vapor by an electronic cigarette or other vaping device to be
58 inhaled by an individual.
59 3. Leaving a child without adult supervision or arrangement
60 appropriate for the child’s age or mental or physical condition,
61 so that the child is unable to care for the child’s own needs or
62 another’s basic needs or is unable to exercise good judgment in
63 responding to any kind of physical or emotional crisis.
64 4. Inappropriate or excessively harsh disciplinary action
65 that is likely to result in physical injury, mental injury as
66 defined in this section, or emotional injury. The significance
67 of any injury must be evaluated in light of the following
68 factors: the age of the child; any prior history of injuries to
69 the child; the location of the injury on the body of the child;
70 the multiplicity of the injury; and the type of trauma
71 inflicted. Corporal discipline may be considered excessive or
72 abusive when it results in any of the following or other similar
73 injuries:
74 a. Sprains, dislocations, or cartilage damage.
75 b. Bone or skull fractures.
76 c. Brain or spinal cord damage.
77 d. Intracranial hemorrhage or injury to other internal
78 organs.
79 e. Asphyxiation, suffocation, or drowning.
80 f. Injury resulting from the use of a deadly weapon.
81 g. Burns or scalding.
82 h. Cuts, lacerations, punctures, or bites.
83 i. Permanent or temporary disfigurement.
84 j. Permanent or temporary loss or impairment of a body part
85 or function.
86 k. Significant bruises or welts.
87 (m) Violates s. 316.613 or s. 316.614, resulting in the
88 death of a child or the injury of a child which requires
89 treatment at a medical facility, if substantiated by alicensed
90 physician’s opinion that the violation exacerbated the child’s
91 injuries or resulted in the child’s death.
92 (n)Violates s. 316.6135, resulting in the death of a child
93 or the injury of a child.
94 Section 2. Paragraphs (j), (k), and (l) are added to
95 subsection (4) of section 39.303, Florida Statutes, to read:
96 39.303 Child Protection Teams and sexual abuse treatment
97 programs; services; eligible cases.—
98 (4) The child abuse, abandonment, and neglect reports that
99 must be referred by the department to Child Protection Teams of
100 the Department of Health for an assessment and other appropriate
101 available support services as set forth in subsection (3) must
102 include cases involving:
103 (j)A child who was not properly restrained in a motor
104 vehicle pursuant to s. 316.613 or s. 316.614 and the improper
105 restraint exacerbated the child’s injuries or resulted in the
106 child’s death.
107 (k)A child who was left unattended or unsupervised in a
108 motor vehicle pursuant to s. 316.6135 and such action resulted
109 in an injury to the child or in the child’s death.
110 (l) Reports from emergency room physicians.
111 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.